The principle of this method is known in the art, but it is one with various disadvantages that limit its usefulness in industry.
First if all, the method tends to systematically clog up heat exchangers, particularly when the solution to be treated contains a large quantity of ions that may form deposits and/or scale such as, for example, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), silicon (Si), etc., and when the solution contains a high percentage of organic and/or mineral solids in suspension. This clogging results in frequent unpredictable treatment equipment stoppages, leading to lost productivity, reduced output, and significant economic losses. Furthermore, each stoppage necessitates the intervention of an operator/technician to repair and restart the equipment, both day and night, and even on holidays. These interventions are very costly, and restarting equipment after a breakdown caused by clogging requires close surveillance. Finally, this type of breakdown requires complicated, expensive dismantling of the heat exchangers, which must take place in an environment polluted by the presence of chemicals hazardous to the technicians, who are forced to work under particularly difficult, dangerous conditions.
There are currently solutions available to reduce the risk of clogging. These solutions consist of adding adjuvants to prevent deposits from forming in the heat exchangers. However, these solutions, which require the acquisition and addition of adjuvants to control, have the disadvantage of considerably increasing the costs of using treatment installations.
Another solution that has been tried consists of doubling the heat exchanger system, thereby reducing the cost of restarting the system because it does not require preliminary cooling. However, the initial investment is considerably higher because the price of high pressure exchangers is very high. Furthermore, this does not eliminate the problem of dismantling and mechanically and/or chemically cleaning dirty exchangers. For this reason, it is an excessively costly solution that penalizes the user both in terms of the initial investment and the use and maintenance of the systems.
Cost of use is therefore a major determining parameter for current systems. Energy consumption for pressurizing the solution to be treated is especially high, as well as the cost of the oxidizer (99% oxygen or pressurized air). Consumption of cooling liquid is also high. In addition, current systems often require the use of catalyzers, further adding to the cost of use and increasing consumption of oxidizing gas.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,577 describes a method for treating recycled water containing inorganic ammonium salts. However, the method of the present invention differs from this method in that:                the reactor is completely filled with liquid and there is no separation of phases in the reactor and thus, no control over the level is required;        the stream of oxidized liquid, which is withdrawn from the reactor to preheat the stream to be treated before it enters the reactor, is constant and previously fixed using diaphragms made of suitable material that is resistant to the stream containing the highly abrasive mineral material;        the temperature for preheating the liquid is regulated by the flow from the upstream pump and not from a downstream valve. This has two advantages: first, it prevents any wear on the valve (no decompression regulation) because regulation takes place under compression (thus no wear or cavitation) and secondly, it reduces exchanger surface to a minimum by the use of a maximum delta T and completely eliminates clogged exchangers through perfect regulation of exchanger temperature (due to compression regulation);        the second stream leaving the reactor is cooled to recoup excess heat and liquid from the reaction and plays no role in regulating the method, which consists, above all, of regulating the temperature at the entrance to the reactor and the pressure at the exit. The object of U.S. Publication 2008/078724 is a system and method for oxidation applications taking place in a wet, catalytic environment, specifically for treating aqueous mud containing a metal and a volatile organic carbon.        
U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,937 concerns an apparatus for the wet oxidation of liquids and/or mud contaminated with organic materials comprising a reactor subdivided into several elements, an apparatus which has no phase separation and in which regulation is accomplished using a downstream valve (regulation of a fluid in decompression mode). In the treatment device according to the present invention temperature is regulated by a system that works by fluid compression. Since the liquid's exit is fixed, the flow rate of the system depends on the necessity of maintaining the system in equilibrium by exerting a constant force on the diaphragms through the action of the liquid. To modify the flow, it is necessary to change the diaphragms, which is a difficult mechanical operation that is quite the opposite of regulation.